Do psychedelics and meditation belong together?

Students have asked me privately whether psychedelics and meditation belong together. I have experience meditating in expanded states of awareness, and I wanted to share my perspective on the potential benefits and drawbacks.

In my experience, meditation and entheogens can both expand awareness, though they take different paths. Meditation offers a gradual way to explore the mind through steady, daily practice. Psychedelic experiences can feel much more sudden and intense, almost like rocket fuel. But intensity is not the same as insight or lasting growth.

I teach meditation and mindfulness. My purpose here is to explore the research, reflect on my experience, and explain why a meaningful experience is not necessarily the same as a lasting change. Meditation does not require any substance.

What are entheogens and psychedelics?

Psychedelics are substances, such as psilocybin from certain mushrooms, that can strongly change perception, mood, and the sense of self, and "entheogen" is a word some people use when those substances are taken in spiritual or ceremonial settings. Researchers usually say "psychedelic," so this article does too.

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse describes classic psychedelics such as psilocybin and LSD as drugs that mainly act on serotonin receptors and can bring vivid visions, strong emotions, and changes in how reality feels (NIDA, Psychedelic and Dissociative Drugs). The same page notes that some of these substances come from plants and fungi with a long history of use in many cultures, including ceremonial use among Indigenous peoples. Those traditions have their own teachers, protocols, and meanings. They are not mine to explain, and they are not a template for anyone to borrow.

Do psychedelics and meditation have anything in common?

They overlap in one interesting way: brain imaging studies of each have pointed to quieter activity in the same network of regions linked to self-referential thinking, though that does not mean the two experiences are the same.

That network is often called the default mode network, which is a set of brain areas more active when the mind wanders and turns inward on itself. In a 2011 study from Yale, experienced meditators showed relatively less activity in key regions of this network during several kinds of meditation than people new to meditation, a pattern the authors described as consistent with less mind-wandering (Brewer et al., 2011, PNAS). In a 2012 study with two groups of 15 healthy volunteers, intravenous psilocybin reduced activity and connectivity in key hub regions of the brain, including parts of the same network, and the size of the drop in one region predicted how intense people said the effects felt (Carhart-Harris et al., 2012, PNAS).

These findings need context. These were different people, different tasks, and different methods. A similar-looking pattern on a scan does not mean a meditator and someone under a drug are having the same experience, and it does not tell us that one can stand in for the other. It is a curious clue, not a conclusion.

What happened when researchers combined psilocybin with meditation?

In two small, carefully run studies, people who took psilocybin alongside a meditation or mindfulness program reported lasting positive changes, but the studies cannot show that the drug caused better meditation or that the results would hold for everyone.

The first came from Johns Hopkins. In a randomized, double-blind study of 75 healthy participants, groups received either a very low dose or a high dose of psilocybin while taking part in a program of meditation and spiritual practices. At six months, the high-dose groups reported larger positive changes on measures such as gratitude, life meaning, and closeness to others than the low-dose group. Notably, both the intensity of the mystical-type experience and how much people kept up meditation or spiritual practice were linked to the lasting changes (Griffiths et al., 2018, Journal of Psychopharmacology).

The second came from Zurich. Researchers gave 39 experienced meditators either psilocybin or a placebo during a five-day mindfulness retreat. The psilocybin group reported deeper meditation and more experiences of a diminished sense of self that participants described positively, without added anxiety, and larger positive changes in psychosocial functioning four months later (Smigielski et al., 2019, Scientific Reports). A companion brain imaging report from the same retreat linked the sense of ego dissolution to changes in connectivity within the default mode network (Smigielski et al., 2019, NeuroImage).

Both studies come from well-known research groups, and both are worth reading. They also come with limits that matter, including the following:

• The samples were small, and the volunteers were screened, prepared, and supported in structured research settings that may differ substantially from use outside a study.
• Strong psychedelic effects are hard to hide, so people often guess what they received, and expectation can shape what they report.
• Much of the measurement relied on self-report, and follow-up lasted months, not years.
• The Zurich retreat had no meditation-free comparison group, so it cannot tell us whether meditation itself changed the response to the drug.
• Participants were healthy volunteers who chose to take part. The results say little about people with a history of mental illness or about use outside research.

Research centers such as the Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research and the Imperial College London psychedelic research centre are still studying these questions, which is a good reminder that the picture is unfinished.

Why do people describe these experiences as spiritual?

Some people describe strong psychedelic experiences as spiritual because, in supportive research settings, many volunteers have reported feelings of unity, sacredness, and deep meaning that resemble what people describe in contemplative life.

In a 2006 Johns Hopkins study, 36 volunteers who were new to hallucinogens and who took part regularly in religious or spiritual activities received psilocybin under comfortable, supportive conditions. Psilocybin increased measures of mystical experience, and two months later many rated the experience as having substantial personal meaning and spiritual significance. The same paper also reports that psilocybin produced shifting moods, including anxiety, during the session (Griffiths et al., 2006, Psychopharmacology).

A meaningful experience is not the same thing as a lasting way of living. Many meditation teachers would say the real work is what happens on an ordinary Tuesday, in how you listen, how you treat people, and how you come back to yourself when life gets loud. A powerful experience can offer a glimpse of something. It does not do the walking for you.

Light and shadow

When awareness opens, we may encounter both light and shadow. An experience can feel beautiful, but it can also be frightening or bring painful memories and emotions to the surface. Having support matters, although the presence of a sitter does not guarantee safety. Intense feelings or memories also deserve careful reflection rather than being accepted automatically as fact.

For me, a daily meditation practice provides a foundation for exploring awareness and making sense of what arises. I also find it helpful to begin meditation with an intention. When I feel distracted or lost, that intention gives me something to return to, gently and repeatedly. An intention can be an anchor; it is not a guarantee that an experience will be manageable.

The mind's source code

Sometimes I think of it as gaining access to the mind's “source code,” becoming aware of beliefs and habits that usually run beneath the surface. With that awareness comes an opportunity to question assumptions, loosen old patterns, and strengthen what serves us. But an insight is not an automatic rewrite. Lasting change takes practice, reflection, and choices in everyday life.

Something can feel profoundly true during an intense experience and still deserve careful reflection afterward. For me, the value of an insight is in how it holds up over time and how I put it into practice.

What are the risks of psychedelics?

The main risks are overwhelming fear or confusion during the experience, possible triggering of lasting psychological problems in people who are vulnerable, drug interactions, and unsafe behavior, and these risks are higher outside carefully screened and supported research settings.

NIDA lists fear, anxiety, confusion, and panic among possible adverse reactions, and notes that impaired thinking and perception can lead people to behave in unusual or dangerous ways, particularly when no one else is present to help. It also says there is some evidence that psychedelics might bring about or trigger schizophrenia-like illness in people with predisposing factors, and that poor mental health outcomes may be more likely outside of clinical use (NIDA). Researchers who write safety guidelines for this work say the most likely risk is overwhelming distress, and that safeguards include excluding volunteers with a personal or family history of psychotic disorders or other severe psychiatric disorders, careful preparation, and a safe environment with trained support (Johnson, Richards, and Griffiths, 2008, Journal of Psychopharmacology).

Medications matter too. NIDA notes that some researchers suspect psychedelics may interact with other medications, including prescription medicines that also raise serotonin, and that serotonin syndrome can be life-threatening in rare cases. Medication interactions depend on the substance and the medicine involved. Your prescriber is the right person to ask about potential interactions, including with antidepressants or lithium. Do not change or stop a prescribed medicine on your own.

NIDA's page on psilocybin also points out that mushrooms can be misidentified, and that poison control centers have seen more exposures as interest has grown (NIDA, Psilocybin). Set and setting, meaning your state of mind and your surroundings, are often named as influences on how an experience goes, but they are not a guarantee of safety.

Psychedelics are not a substitute for mental health care. If you are struggling, a doctor or licensed mental health professional is the place to start.

Are psychedelics legal?

Legal status depends on the substance, the activity, and where you live. Decriminalization, regulated services, and medical approval are different things; one does not imply the others.

Oregon has a regulated psilocybin services program administered by the Oregon Health Authority. State programs have specific conditions and do not amount to unrestricted access. Check current official rules in your jurisdiction rather than relying on a general article for legal guidance.

What do contemplative traditions say about substances?

Views differ across traditions, and in Buddhism the best-known guidance is a lay precept to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs that lead to carelessness.

The Five Precepts are basic training rules observed by practicing lay Buddhists. The fifth is to refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to carelessness (Access to Insight, The Five Precepts). People interpret that precept in different ways, and I am not a scholar of any tradition, so I will leave the finer debates to those who are. Many other traditions have their own relationship to substances, some with ceremonial use handled inside a community, and those deserve to be learned from their own teachers and not summarized by an outsider.

Do you need psychedelics to meditate deeply?

No. Meditation does not require any substance, and steady, ordinary practice offers a place to begin.

The practice I teach is simple. Sit down, notice where your attention goes, and come back kindly, again and again. It sounds almost too plain, and that plainness is the point.

It is also fair to say that meditation is not risk-free for everyone. The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health reports that in one review about 8 percent of participants had a negative effect from meditation, most often anxiety or depression, a finding from that review rather than a prediction of any one person’s risk (NCCIH, Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety). If a practice stirs up more than you can hold, it is fine to stop, to shorten your sits, and to talk with a professional.

If you want a gentle place to begin, these pages are a good start:

• How to start meditating, for your first few weeks of practice.
• Common meditation mistakes, for the usual stumbling blocks and how to ease them.
• The science of meditation, for what research does and does not show.
• Meditation for anxiety, if a busy or worried mind is what brought you here.
• Guided meditations, if you would like a voice to follow.

How do meditation and psychedelic experiences compare?

Meditation develops attention and awareness through practice. Psychedelics alter perception and consciousness through a substance. Researchers have explored their overlap, but that does not make them interchangeable.

For me, a steady practice is where insights meet everyday life: in how I listen, how I respond, and how I return when my attention wanders.

Frequently asked questions

What does entheogen mean?

Entheogen is a word some people use for substances taken in spiritual or ceremonial settings. Researchers usually use the word psychedelic instead.

Can psychedelics make you better at meditation?

Small studies have reported increased meditation depth and improvements in some measures of mindfulness when psilocybin was combined with meditation. That does not establish that psychedelics reliably improve meditation skills over time or that the findings apply outside those research settings.

Does meditation work like a psychedelic?

Not exactly. Brain imaging studies of both have pointed to quieter activity in a network linked to self-referential thinking, but they involved different people and methods, and similar scan patterns do not mean the same experience.

Is psilocybin legal?

It depends on where you live, and laws can change. Oregon has a regulated psilocybin services program with specific conditions. Check current official rules where you live; state-level permissions do not necessarily resolve federal restrictions.

Who should be especially careful about psychedelics?

People with a personal or family history of psychosis or bipolar disorder, and people who take medications such as antidepressants or lithium, should talk with a doctor first. Research studies typically exclude people with psychosis or bipolar disorder.

Can meditation itself be hard?

Yes. For some people meditation can bring up anxiety, sadness, or unsettling feelings. Shortening your sits, taking breaks, and talking with a licensed professional are all reasonable responses.

Does Greg teach or recommend psychedelics?

No. Greg teaches meditation and mindfulness without any substances and does not recommend, supply, or advise on psychedelics.

Where can a beginner start meditating without any substance?

Start with a few quiet minutes a day, notice where your attention goes, and gently return to the breath. The free Wednesday sit with Greg is an easy, low-pressure way to practice with others.

Sources

1. Griffiths, R. R., Richards, W. A., McCann, U., and Jesse, R. (2006). Psilocybin can occasion mystical-type experiences having substantial and sustained personal meaning and spiritual significance. Psychopharmacology, 187(3), 268-283. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16826400/
2. Griffiths, R. R., et al. (2018). Psilocybin-occasioned mystical-type experience in combination with meditation and other spiritual practices produces enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 32(1), 49-69. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29020861/
3. Smigielski, L., et al. (2019). Characterization and prediction of acute and sustained response to psychedelic psilocybin in a mindfulness group retreat. Scientific Reports, 9, 14914. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31649304/
4. Smigielski, L., et al. (2019). Psilocybin-assisted mindfulness training modulates self-consciousness and brain default mode network connectivity with lasting effects. NeuroImage, 196, 207-215. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30965131/
5. Carhart-Harris, R. L., et al. (2012). Neural correlates of the psychedelic state as determined by fMRI studies with psilocybin. PNAS, 109(6), 2138-2143. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22308440/
6. Brewer, J. A., et al. (2011). Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity. PNAS, 108(50), 20254-20259. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22114193/
7. Johnson, M., Richards, W., and Griffiths, R. (2008). Human hallucinogen research: guidelines for safety. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 22(6), 603-620. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18593734/
8. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Psychedelic and Dissociative Drugs. https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/hallucinogens
9. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Psilocybin (Magic Mushrooms). https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/psilocybin-magic-mushrooms
10. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Meditation and Mindfulness: Effectiveness and Safety. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-effectiveness-and-safety
11. Oregon Health Authority. Oregon Psilocybin Services. https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/Pages/Oregon-Psilocybin-Services.aspx
12. Access to Insight. The Five Precepts (pañca-sila). https://www.accesstoinsight.org/ptf/dhamma/sila/pancasila.html
13. Johns Hopkins Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research. https://www.hopkinspsychedelic.org
14. Imperial College London, Centre for Interventional Psychiatry and Psychedelic Research. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/psychedelic-research-centre/

This article is for general education only. It is not medical, legal, or mental health advice and does not recommend using any substance. These summaries describe findings from specific studies; they do not establish benefits or safety for everyone.